The Star, the Moon and the Sun
by queenLiz4
Summary: After an attack from the Fire Giants, Loki helps to repair the Bifrost where he meets The Avengers. (Not the best summary I've ever written) Loki/Scarlet Witch
1. Chapter 1

Notes:

EDIT: I had a character mess up right in the middle of this story which Ssa104 pointed out to me. A special thanks to you!

This is an AU story that will take scenes from the movie. This is after Thor 1 and before the first Avengers. I've also taken Loki's history from the comics and use his original title (God of Fire).  
This is crack-ish which all my stories have been lately but there will be moments of seriousness.  
Sif is a jerk in this one.  
Thor is a bit over protective.  
There might be more tags later.

Fury and Coulson watched, eyes fixed, on the portal that was glowing and making horrible terrifying sounds. Guns were drawn, and they were ready for whatever emerged though they had no idea what they were going to encounter. Since Thor's appearance they have had their share of aliens coming to destroy the Earth thinking that Thor wouldn't be able to protect it without Asgardian armies. They had been dead wrong, but Fury wasn't cocky. He knew it only took the right foe and he would take no chances.

A bright light lit up the room causing everyone to turn away until it died down, leaving two bodies at the portal, both with smoke rising off them, one of which, held what looked to be a weapon.

"Sir!" Fury called out. "Please put down the spear."

It seemed instinctual that the taller one, the one with the spear, stepped in front of the shorter one as if to protect him from the guns pointed at them. He looked at the spear then back at Fury. "No."

The shorter one giggled in a non-threatening manner .

The speared man stood up straighter. "I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with an elder brother."

The shorter one laughed out loud now looking even more nonthreatening.

"Loki? Brother of Thor?" An older man said.

"You know Thor?" The one behind Loki asked. "Father sent us to find him."

"Stand down." Fury told his men. Then he looked to the older man. "Go find Thor."

The two aliens looked around the room at the weird looking humans thinking that their guns would protect them. Baldur was near invincible and Loki's healing power was unmatched. Still, Loki admired their attempt to protect their world, feeble though it was.

"Oh," Loki added. "We also need the tesseract back. I kind of destroyed the bridge that joins our worlds."

"Destroyed is an understatement." Baldur stated with a proud smile.

"BROTHERS!" Thor thundered as he entered the room. "How did you get here?!"

Balder jumped off the portal and ran into Thor's waiting arms. "Loki and Father need the tesseract."

Loki wasn't so quick to go running into his older brother's arms, but he was smiling from ear to ear. "Father believes I can be of some assistance to your mortal peasant girl in building a new bridge."

"That is wonderful!" Thor exclaimed. "But please don't call Jane a mortal peasant girl when you meet her brother. She wouldn't appreciate it."

Loki shrugged. "We're hungry. Feed us."

"Of course! I will take you to meet the Avengers! We will order the most delicious food and share stories." Loki followed behind Thor and Baldur towards the exit eyes fixed on the one eyes man glaring daggers at him.

Loki wasn't interested in exchanging stories, but Midgardian food was too good to pass up. Unlike Asgard, Midgard had a wide assortment of seafood. As much as he loved Asgard, he missed his Jotun diet.

This was Baldur's first time on this planet and he seemed very impressed by everything. The Avenger Towers was an impressive building. Loki certainly wanted a building with his name on it. It was so sleek, and sexy and had so many fascinating toys. He couldn't help but press buttons and wait excitedly for something to happen.

He didn't get through many buttons though before Thor stopped him. "Stark does not like it when his toys are played with." The oldest brother warned. "You should be careful."

"Is he an only child?" Loki asked? "Problems with sharing are common issues with only children." He continued to press buttons. Lights dimmed, televisions came on, music played. Everything was activated with a push of a button.

"Um, excuse me. Who are you? What are you doing with those buttons?"

Loki turned to face who he guessed was Stark. "Pressing them. That is what buttons are for yes? To be pressed? Why make a button if you don't want me to press it? That seems like psychological torture. Are you a psychological torturer?"

Tony blinked. "I don't… I haven't… no I am not."

"Then let me press the buttons."

Tony blinked. "No."

"I have not come down to Midgard to be put under restrictions." Loki pointed his scepter to Stark. "You must be killed."

Tony had only a seconded to be worried before Thor grabbed his brother's arms. "Loki, we discussed this. You cannot kill people just because you want to."

"I don't want to. He won't let me press buttons." Loki explained as if it made perfect sense, as if being told not to press a button warranted death.

"Thor who are these people?" Tony asked. "The red head looks like you but the dude with the glowing stick seems a bit more…"

"Psychotic?" The red head offered happily.

Tony nodded. "Let's go with that."

"They are my brothers!" Thor answered with pride. "This is Baldur, my youngest brother, and this is Loki."

Tony nodded at them both. "Well, take the glow stick of death away from Mr. Trigger happy and let's get some lunch!"

Loki squinted. "Will there be sushi?"

"There can be, if you don't shoot me." Tony promised.

"You are an excellent negotiator." Loki handed his scepter to Thor.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be shot, Tony went to order Japanese food.

000

It was just like being at home. Thor had never felt so comfortable at this table than he did while sitting there with his friends and his brothers. Baldur spoke about some of the craziest things the three of them had been through while Tony encouraged him no to spare any details. Even Bruce laughed at the idea of Thor dressed in a dress and dancing a seductive dance for the dwarves.

Loki for his part was quiet, as always, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. But Thor knew better. Loki was not one to ignore people; he didn't trust them enough to ignore them.

Thor remembered the day Odin came home with Loki. He was only four, turning 5, and Baldur was just born. He was sitting with his mother, Frigga, when Odin returned, victorious over the Jotuns. He was cheered when he arrived back and Thor watched as Odin bypassed his cheering people and ushered his small family into private chambers.

"We have organized a banquet." Frigga told him. "Has something happened?"

Just then, the heavy doors opened, and in came a solider and at his side a small blue Jotun with black hair and clutching a white grizzly looking stufftie. Thor remembered looking up at his mother, who looked down at the Jotun child with her mouth hanging open.

"This is Loki. Loki Laufyson." Odin told them.

"Laufyson." His mother gasped. "Loki Laufyson?"

"His eldest, cast aside because of his mixed genes. Neglected and abused." Odin explained further. " We found him in a temple and snatched him before his father could wake. Runts aren't missed."

At the time Thor didn't understand those words his father used, but as they grew older and he saw the scars for himself he understood. Though Loki was never forth coming about his short time on his home realm, Thor gathered it wasn't pleasant.

When Loki first came to court he was quiet, always under Odin. Soon he branched out to Frigga and then to Thor. But he bonded the most with Baldur, perhaps because Baldur was too young to know that he was the son of Asgard's greatest enemy.

When Baldur cried, Loki was the first to him. As they grew, Loki taught him magic, as Thor taught him the ways of a warrior.

He was drawn back to the conversation at hand when Jane appeared at the front door.

"Jane, my love, meet my brothers, Baldur and Loki." Thor placed a kiss on her forehead.

Baldur and Loki rose from their chair, the youngest brother kissed her slender hand. "My Lady, Thor failed to speak of your beauty."

Loki blinked. "He failed to mention how tiny you are."

Jane whipped her head to him. "And what's wrong with being small?"

"Nothing at all." Loki answered. "I am just surprised. You are nothing like the women my brother usually beds."

She raised an eyebrow and went to ask questions, but Thor stopped her. "This is not a conversation I wish us to have."

Jane pursed her lips. "Secrets huh? Loki, we will be talking later."

"As you wish my lady." Loki answered, a wicked smile on his face.

She smiled. "I'm going to go wash up."

The moment Jane was out of ear shot Thor sent a murderous glare to Loki. "If you utter one word about…"

Loki's green eyes opened wide. "What brother? What will you do when I tell her about the servants, Valkyries, and princesses you convinced to spread their thighs for you? Please tell me because I'm just dying to know."

Thor was twitching as Baldur started goading him on. "Are you going to let him out you to your lady friend?"

"Don't tempt me brother! Mother is not here to save you." Thor threatened.

"And Father is not here to save you! What are you going to do? Are you going to cry to your Avenger friends about how your little brother is bothering you?" Loki teased.

"See," Tony interrupted amused by the back and forth. "This is why I'm happy I'm an only child."

It wasn't long before Barton and Steve came in for their usual lunch date. For a little while, Jane was the only female there, listening to these men talking about how great they were. She was so happy when Pepper came in with Natasha and Wanda, who everyone called Scarlet.

All three women stopped in their tracks. Scarlet raised one brown eyebrow. "Oh my, they come in different flavors."

Natasha and Pepper giggled as the women found their seats.

"Avenger ladies these are my brothers, Loki and Baldur."

Baldur smiled a dashing smile. "Pleasure to meet you."

Loki shrugged. "I'm fairly indifferent."

Scarlet pointed her finger at him. "You look like trouble."

Loki put his hand to his chest. "Me? No, not even a little bit."

Thor stood up pretending to get something to drink but stopped behind his brother's back shaking his head and waving his arms miming that Loki would kill her if need be. It brought a chuckle out the group causing Loki to whip around and see his brother.

He smirked and leaned over to Jane. "Has my brother ever told you about a warrior woman named Si…" Before Loki could get it out, Thor was shoving sushi down Loki's throat.

"Mmmm, brother delicious fish." Thor said shoving another one in. "You should eat it all!"

After the giggles died down, Loki was still trying to take the excess food from his mouth while Baldur asked, "And what are your names. Beauty, Beautiful and Stunning?"

All three girls swooned. "I'm Pepper, Tony's wife."

"Natasha, Bruce's wife."

"Scarlet," He motioned to Loki. "His wife."

Loki coughed up the remaining fish. "Must we get married? Can't I just bed you and keep you as a mistress?"

"Do I look like a whore to you?" She asked?

"I am a sorcerer. You have magic as well, I see. Red magic. You're a very angry woman."

"And your magic is green. Is that not the color of envy?" She countered.

"Envy? Norn's no! It's the color of greatness." He smiled. He didn't believe his own lie.

Scarlet smiled and rolled her eyes.

"So how long will you two being staying?" Tony asked. "We have the room."

Baldur smiled. "I wish to see the great sites of Midgard."

Loki shrugged. "I wish to annoy Thor."

Thor had been translating Loki for years. If he said that, it was because he was missed him since Loki had a legitimate reason for staying; he was to assist with the Bifrost. He hadn't needed to mention Thor at all.

"Also, Jane, Loki believes he can assist you in building the bridge between our worlds." Thor informed her.

Jane perked up. "Really?" She turned to Loki. "Really?"

"Yes." Loki answered. "But first I must inform Mother and Father of our safe arrival." Loki stood up. "You know Mother will send an army if she believes us hurt."

Baldur and Thor both nodded their heads. Frigga was a worrier, as many mothers were, though in Thor's opinion she fretted over Loki more than any of them and perhaps with good reason. After Loki's fall he was never really the same again.

As Loki exited Bruce asked, "How does he contact Asgard? Do you guys have inter-realm cell phones?"

"Magic." Baldur answered. "He can use magic to connect to other magical beings."

Scarlet raised a brow. "Really? How interesting." She was going to have to start picking Loki's brain.

"You know he might come in handy." Bruce started. "Especially when those intergalactic foes come to Earth again."

"Yes, Loki is well traveled. He has a wealth of information." Thor boasted proudly.

Loki returned. "Mother said she doesn't love any of you. She only loves me."

Baldur snorted. "No she didn't."

"Who was the guy with the eye patch?" Loki questioned sitting back down at the table. "I don't like his face."

"That's Fury." Natasha answered. "He runs SHIELD."

"Well he's got a terrible way of welcoming visitors to this planet. I am thinking that perhaps I should kill him."

"You took us by surprise brother." Thor answered. "I am sure now that he knows you are a friend of Earth he will be more welcoming.

"Who said I was a friend? I've never proclaimed friendship. In fact, I think I should over throw their government and rules them all."

Tony shook his head. "Tried that, doesn't work."

Loki thought about it for a moment. "Well then perhaps I should set up trade relations with their fishing industry. This sushi is superior to any made on Asgard."

Thor rolled his eyes. "You must be exhausted from using all that dark magic."

"Don't tell me what I must be." Loki replied followed by a yawn. "Glowing chest man. Show me to my room. Baldur and I must rest."

Scarlet watched the three brothers and Stark leave. She turned to Natasha. "Things just got interesting in this tower."

000

Night fell too soon for Thor's liking. His friends took to his brother's well, even Loki who often made a terrible first impression. He wasn't as charming as Baldur and his standoffish behavior made people keep a distance. But his friends took his comments as jokes, as they were meant to be and questioned him about his travels and magic.

When Barton arrived, he and Loki seemed to become fast friends trying to find a way to enchant his arrows. The only problem he could see was Scarlet's flirtatious behaviors. Loki took it as a joke, but Thor didn't think she was joking. He knew his brother was attractive, many women had admired his exotic look, but Scarlet wasn't looking at him with feminine charms and batting eyelashes. She looked at him the way Natasha used to look at Bruce before they became an item.

He would keep an eye on the red witch.

He hoped Loki could fix the Bifrost. As much as he loved Midgard, he wanted to go home. He missed his family and they feasts they would hold.

It wasn't too long ago that his family was almost irreparably broken. During Thor's coronation, Fire Giants found a way into Asgard. They had hoped to destroy both Joutunhiem and Midgard and it resulted in Loki destroying the Bifrost. Many lives were lost on all sides and though Thor felt bad about each fallen solider, what he remembered was that moment when both his brothers dangled from the broken bridge. He had a brother in each hand, both looking afraid and young.

He knew he couldn't save both and Loki's magic was weak and so there was no way for him to teleport to a safer place. He remembered when Loki looked at Baldur. He remembered the look in Loki's green eyes as he looked back at Thor.

"Let me go." Loki told him, his voice so calm and resolved.

"Loki, no!" He knew he couldn't pull them both up but he also knew losing a brother was not an option.

"You can't save us both." Loki told him so calmly. There was dullness in his brother's eyes that Thor would never forget.

"Loki…" Loki released Thor's hand, though Thor continued to hold on. He could feel Loki slipping away. "Please Loki."

He wiggled loosening his grip in Thor's and then suddenly he broke free and he fell into the void.

It was a sight that haunted Thor's dreams still. There was no scream, no dramatic look on his brother's face. He was ready to die and that was sad being as Loki had lived only a thousand years.

Baldur was in consolable, as was their mother. While their father put on a stony exterior, behind closed doors he was a wreck.

And then, months after, their mother sensed his magic again while on a trance. It was a frantic few days as the sorcerers of Asgard tried to pin point where he was. All the best sorcerers tried all their best spells and chants, but it was Baldur, in the end, that Loki's magic went to in a dream and they found him with the dwarves.

He had burns covering most his body and his was unconscious. The dwarves were working on his healing night and day, as Loki had on many occasions used his magic to help them in the past. They assisted him, in his unconscious form, send messages to his family so they could find him and take him home.

They took Loki back to Asgard where their healers worked on him. It took months before Loki woke up. His scars faded but Loki wasn't the same after that. He seemed fearless which caused him to take risks that could end his life. He was bitterer, at times flowing from happy to angry in the same sentence.

And he could control fire, the only Jotun known in the Nine Realms who could conjure both ice and fire. The first time he did it, it scared everyone, even Thor. He and his friends were wandering in the waste lands when night fell. They looked around for a way to start a fire. Loki bent down and breathed fire on the logs. It was a frightening site but no one mentioned it or questioned him.

Mother said it was probably how he survived. Where ever he fell, it must have been covered in flames and his magic adapted to help him tolerate and control it.

With the Bifrost broken, there was no way to protect Earth, so they used dark magic to conjure him to Earth and there he met Jane and The Avengers and went to work as its protector.

"Are you alright?" Jane asked bringing him from his thoughts.

He turned at smiled at her. "I am fine my love. Just happy to see my brothers."

"They seemed happy to see you too." She smiled and walking into his open arms. "I'm happy they are here."

"As am I. Baldur is almost of age. Soon he will be married off. Who knows how long all three of us would be together."

"Well they are here now, and that's what matters." Thor held her for a few moments before she looked up at him. "Do you think Loki will be of much help?"

"If he wants to be." Thor smiled. "I think he might delay just to stay in Midgard longer. He likes the food here."

"He did eat all the sushi. And Baldur is too sweet."

"Always the charmer he is. But he is young. It seems like forever ago that I was his age."

She smiled thinking it probably was considering how slow they age. "Come on. Let's rest up. Tomorrow will be a long day.

Thor smiled his agreement. As long as it promised to be, he couldn't wait for it.

Notes:

What do you guys think? Do you like the pairing of Loki and Scarlet?  
I know I have other stories I should be updating but this has been bugging me.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary:

Thor isn't sure how he feels about the relationships Loki and Baldur and making while on Earth.

Notes:

No beta  
Thanks for all the feed back.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Thor was not pleased. Since Loki and Baldur arrived over a week ago, he had not a moment with neither his brothers nor even his girlfriend. His Avenger friends were so amazed by what Loki could do that he was constantly sought after for advice, to do tricks, or to just sit there and listen to their insistent chatter about nothing and boy did Loki like to listen to chatter about nothing.

It wasn't that he was jealous or anything, of course not. He'd never been in a position to be jealous of his brothers. He was the strongest, the most respected and perhaps the handsomest, no he had no reason to be jealous. He just couldn't understand what was so fascinating. Sure Baldur told a story better than anyone he knew, and sure Loki was full of sass and snark but that was no reason to just follow them around all day.

Jane wouldn't stop working. Once Loki opened his big mouth about all the things he knew about intergalactic travel and portals and his time floating through time and space she was hooked on his every word. She had one question after the other and Loki just loved having her there to talk to. His brother always did like the sound of his own voice.

A part of him was happy Loki had someone to talk to. Asgard didn't have an abundance of Loki fans, though some people had softened to him after his fall from the Bifrost, but no one really spoke to him the way The Avengers were.

Then there was Tony, so interested in Loki's magic. He wanted to study how it worked, where it came from, what it felt like, how powerful it was. For four hours Loki was tested, prodded, scanned and questioned and it seemed the more Tony learned, the more he wanted to know.

Baldur was practically attached to Bruce's hip. Everywhere Bruce went Baldur followed. Bruce said Baldur was calming and Baldur said Bruce was interesting.

Barton and Natasha found Loki hilarious. There wasn't a thing Loki said that one of them didn't laugh at.

Then there was Scarlet and her all too touchy hands. He really needed to have a talk with her about touching things that wasn't hers. Loki had a hard enough life without complicating it with her empathy/mind control abilities.

He had hoped he had an ally in Steve to keep his brother's away from the rest of the Avengers but all he said was "Thor, don't worry, soon enough your brothers will be gone and everything will be back to normal."

Thor nodded but in his head, he spoke every cuss word he could to the good Captain. What kind of advice was that? The next time intergalactic foes entered the Earth's atmosphere he was going to tell him to just want until they leave and then everything will be back to normal.

Thor sat at the table, pouting and in a bad mood while Pepper and Natasha cooked a special lunch for Baldur. Scarlet and Barton were sitting across from him while playing checkers. Tony and Steve were busy trying to find a way to keep the ice dispenser from going nuts every time Loki touched it. Especially since it delighted his younger brother to see the thing go berserk.

Loki came in, scepter in hand and took a seat across from his brother and next to Barton who immediately perked up at Loki's presence. "Loks…" Oh they had nicknames now? "What are you up to today?"

"I've not decided but I'm leaning toward going to the aquarium and eating all the fish there." Loki told him. "I've been told it is against the rules but, you know, I'm Loki."

Pepper snorted.

"You might have to." Natasha encouraged. "We're out of fish."

Loki gasped the horror written on his face. He slumped over, depressed looking before he looked at Barton. "Barton. Go to the store and buy tuna."

Barton shook his head. "No way. I just had to go grocery shopping for the wife and kids and it was not fun."

Not one to take no for an answer, Loki tilted his staff and touch Barton's heart as his eyes turned blue. "Go buy tuna."

"As you wish." Barton stood up.

Natasha laughed. "That is so cool!"

Thor shook his head. What was wrong with Natasha, encouraging his brother to mind control people? "Brother, Mother told you about this. You cannot make friends with mind control."

Scarlet laughed. "I beg to differ."

Why can't she shut up? Who was talking to her anyway?

"Anyone else need anything?" Loki asked ignoring his brother's warning.

"Eggs!" Pepper yelled out.

"Pop tarts!" Tony added. "Someone eats a box a day."

Thor refused to apologize for that. If they didn't want him to eat it all, they shouldn't make them so good.

"You guys realize this is wrong right?" Steve told them.

Loki rolled his eyes. Mr. Do-Gooder Captain America always talking about what was right and what was wrong. "So you don't want creamer?" Luckily Loki was good at convincing people that right was whatever he thought it to be. "I know how much you hate coffee without creamer."

An internal battle started in Captain America between his head and his taste buds. "Ok yeah, hazelnut." Score one for the taste buds.

"Off with you minion." Loki motioned to the door and Barton left without a fight.

Suddenly a beeping noise went off and Loki's face lit up. "A text message." Loki pulled out a cell phone. "Jane requires my assistance. I must be off."

"Jane?" Thor was outraged. "When did you get a cell phone?"

"Yesterday. Tony bought one for Baldur and me." Loki answered. "I love them. There is a wealth of entertaining games including one where I can take pictures of people and decorate them with funny captions."

Thor didn't even have a cell phone.

"Can I come?" Scarlet asked. "I'd love to see what your magic can do."

That sounded far more sexual than Thor liked.

"Yes. I would love the company." Loki, as always, was oblivious to flirtatious advances of a woman.

After she left to grab her jacket, Thor took that opportunity to put an end to Loki's friendship with the witch. "Brother, what do you think you're doing?"

Loki shrugged on his jacket. "What father sent me here for, of course. I've been helpful to Jane and have not once called her a peasant girl. To her face anyway."

His problems with the growing friendship between Loki and Jane could be handled another time. "I mean with Scarlet."

"Oh. She interested in the magic aspect of things. I told her I would help her with it." Loki took out his phone and started swiping at the screen. "Her powers are very much tied in to her emotions. Plus I like her accent."

Thor couldn't care less about her emotional powers. "You are traveling alone with a female?"

Loki snorted. "Brother, things are very different on Midgard than on Asgard. Males and females can travel without escorts."

This wasn't about the social norms of Midgard. "Brother Midgardian women aren't like Asgardian women. They are more…"

"We are more what?" Pepper interrupted sensing where this conversation was going.

"More..." Realizing that Natasha was also looking at him with a hand on her hip, Thor realized he was about to piss off the wrong two women. "Look it doesn't matter. What about Baldur?"

"He's with Bruce." Loki answered looked a bit confused. "They are dissecting some poor creature or something. I don't know. I don't listen to full sentences just a few key words."

Scarlet returned. "Let's go."

"Scarlet." Thor stopped them. "A moment please."

"Oh Thor come on." Loki begged.

Thor wasn't about to let his little brother walk off with this overly flirtatious woman. "I kindly ask you to keep your hands to yourself."

"Seriously?" Loki was mortified.

"Excuse me?" Scarlet had no idea what Thor was talking about but something in his tone told her to be insulted.

"Loki is a prince," Thor explained. "And you have no rights touching…"

"Seriously, I know I'm the prettiest but I am your brother not your sister." Loki's voice took on a more annoyed tone.

"Loki has no problems with me touching." Scarlet was not going to let Thor tell her who she could touch.

Thor pushed Loki aside and stepped closer to the witch. "Loki doesn't know what you are capable of."

Loki grunted as he hit the wall before adding, "Loki would like to know what she's capable of."

Tony giggled at that.

Thor pointed a long finger at her. "Loki is a child."

"Child!" Loki was outraged.

"Loki and I did the math. We are the same age." Scarlet stepped closer to Thor. She wasn't afraid of him or his mighty hammer.

"I have you both know Loki is standing here and he is not pleased with you talking about him like he isn't here." Loki yelled.

Thor took a steadying breath. "Loki, you know not the ways of women."

Loki snorted. "I don't know if you remember but I was stuck in a woman's body for like four years."

"Really?" Tony asked. "How did that happen?"

"Spell gone wrong." Loki explained. "Father was not happy a day in those four years either. I was hot. He had to beat the guards off me."

"Ah." Tony said as if people just turned into different genders all the time thanks to spells gone wrong.

Loki turned his attention back to Thor. "Thor, your over protective brother speech can resume when I return. Jane is waiting for me."

Jane used to wait for him. Jane used to call the towers at least four times a day to speak to him and now she is texting Loki messages!

Scarlet gave a glance at a very angry looking Thor. She picked up her hand and slowly placed it on Loki's back then rubbed in small circles. "I'm touching your brother."

Loki laughed. "He's going to pop a vein. Come on." He grabbed her hand and teleported away.

Tony folded his arms. "What's your problem? Scarlet is a good girl and there is no one her age around here. She's just having fun with another magical creature."

"Loki is not here for fun and games." Thor told him plopping on his chair.

"Loki is doing what he was sent here for. Leave him be." Natasha warned.

"And where is Bruce?" Thor was yelling again. "What if he Hulks in front of Baldur? Dissecting animals! Isn't that was Loki said they were doing?"

"We can't really be sure of that." Steve said. "Loki said he only listened to key words."

"I KNOW WHAT LOKI SAID!" Thor couldn't believe the nerve of these people. They were acting as if they knew Loki better than he did.

Not pleased with Thor's tone, Tony stepped closer to the thunderer. "Baldur is not stupid. Seriously, what are you worried about?"

Thor slumped down on the table. "Friend Stark, I don't even know. My brothers have not spent a full hour with me since they arrived."

Everyone exchanged glances nodded and making a-ha noises. Pepper walked over to Thor and put an arm around him. "You're still their older brother Thor. They are just in a new environment. Give them a few days to settle in and they will be at your side again."

Thor sighed. "Thank you Pepper. You give better advice than Steve."

"Hey!" Steve actually sounded offended though he really wasn't.

000

With his hand behind his back, Loki walked into the living room where Thor sat with Tony watching a sports game. Loki wasn't interested in the sports on Asgard other than hunting, and Midgard sports didn't gain his attention either.

Thor looked up, gaging how angry Loki might have been with him. Loki sat next to him, a beer in his hand. "What are you watching brother? It looks like something boring."

"It is a most entertaining sport called American Football, not to be confused with European Football, which is known as soccer here." Thor explained relieved that Loki was talking to him.

The look on Loki's face said uninterested but then he asked. "How is it played?"

Tony watched as Thor launched into a very animated speech about football and smiled to himself. Loki was not at all interested but he asked questions and stayed by Thor's side for the rest of the game.

Tony wanted to laugh at the obviousness of Loki's fake interest but Thor didn't seem to pick up on it. It was actually kind of sweet. Apparently Loki knew full well that Thor was missing his brothers and he handled his business and spent the day with Scarlet only to come back his brother's side and for two hours, hung on his every word even though he had no interest in sports.

At the end of the game Loki stood up and stretched. "Well, I better call it a night. Scarlet is in bed waiting for me."

Thor jumped to his feet so fast the house shook and the wide smile on Loki's face said it enjoyed the trick before he disappeared. Tony laughed. "You wanted his attention."

Thor looked at Tony. "Brothers are most annoying."

Tony smiled clicking off the television. "Thor, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course." Thor sat back down.

"Why Loki? I mean, Baldur flirts with everyone who walks through the door but that doesn't bother you. Why does it bother you that Loki is getting attention?"

Thor sighed. "The attention is not what bothers me. It's what the attention may mean."

"What do you mean?" Tony frowned.

"Tony, Loki is a Jotun, an enemy of my people. When my Father adopted him, no one would play with him or touch him, other than us because of his appearance. Eventually he changed his appearance to please other Asgardians removing his usual blue skin. Loki will do a lot of things just to please people. He will do tricks and be a clown for the amusement of others just for the attention and possibly affection."

Mildly insulted Tony replied. "You can't possibly think we'll do anything like that. Loki is a cool cat."

"Loki is a cool cat indeed and I don't think any of your will hurt him, not intentionally."

"Unintentionally?"

No, maybe not all of The Avengers but one of them in particular could very well hurt his brother. "Scarlet…"

"Ah yes. That can lead to unintentional hurt." Tony, being the one who unintentionally hurt his partners all time could very well understand that. But then Pepper came around and despite his tendency to ruin everything he touched, she loved him not in spite of it but because of it. "Or it can lead to a beautiful relationship."

Thor nodded. "So you think I should let things happen naturally."

"He has to live Thor. You can't protect him forever."

Thor would never forget that. No in the centuries he was promised to live would he ever forget that he was in no way strong enough to keep Loki safe. It was his weakness that forced Loki to choose to save Baldur instead of himself.

"I might not be able to save him from everything, but I will protect him from as much as I can while I still can."

Tony couldn't fully understand that as he had no siblings, but he thought about hi science bro Bruce. He often shielded the green giant from a lot of things to keep him safe. Tony nodded. "You're a good brother Thor."

Notes:

As always, tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Summary:

We get some insight on what being an elder brother is like.

Notes:

I GOT A BETA! wHOO-hOO! Thanks mischieffuckinmanaged!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Loki gave them a run for their money, but they were surprised that in the end it was Scarlet that took him down.

Sparing with Thor's brother was fun. Loki wasn't a stand and fight kind of guy. He was all over the place, making duplicates and throwing energy balls at people. He hadn't even broken a sweat when he battled Steve or Barton. Natasha stayed longer than them both but in the end Iron Man's armor was the hardest to get through.

Eventually, Loki got the idea to infect Jarvis effectively shutting the suit down.

That left Scarlet alone with the maniac who had duplicated himself into thirty Loki's and started an annoying game of "Which one am I?"

She made quick work of deciphering though since duplicates had no memories to read. Once finding him, taking him out proved difficult. His magic was stronger and her blasts did little but knock him back a few steps.

A look of determination crossed her face as she attempted to stall his movement using her telekinetic powers. This it seemed, worked better than anything else she'd tried as he grunted, his movements turning sluggish. "Finish him!" Natasha yelled, ever the competitor yelled.

Loki was suddenly sweating. He had no telekinetic powers of his own; Loki had nothing to repel it with either. It took sheer force of will to break through which seemed to piss her off because one minute he was standing up and the next he was flat on his back looking confused.

Damned emotional woman.

Loki struggled up while Scarlet stood there looking as surprised as he did. "I'm sorry." She told him. "I… I don't know…"

"You know if you could control your emotions, you could be far more deadly." Loki told her as he dusted himself off. "Had you done that move first, you would have saved your comrades."

She closed her mouth and swallowed as he placed a hand on his back and stretched it out causing it to crack. "Teach me telekinesis, I'll teach you control?" He offered

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" "Thor yelled once he found his little brother. Ever the rain cloud on Loki's parade this god was. He looked at Natasha. "What is going on here? Why is my brother hurt?"

Natasha rolled her yes. "Oh please. Your 'little' brother jut beat the crap out of us and broke Tony's new suit."

"We were just sparring Thor." Loki explained. "They wanted to learn how to fight against magic."

"There are other, much less damaging ways to use power. And now you want to learn to control objects…"

"I know how to control objects, I want to learn to control people. Imagine if I had that power! There would be no realm that could deny me their fish."

Thor snorted. "You have your scepter for that. Now come let me check your back."

"Check my… Thor I've been through far worse than an emotional blast from an angry witch. Don't know if you've noticed but all of my past girlfriends were witches and I am a frustrating boyfriend."

Thor frowned ready to comment on Loki's promiscuity when Tony stood up. "Well, Loki has to help me fix my suit. We have a break-it-you-fix-it policy here in the tower."

Thor glared at Loki's retreating back as Tony put an arm around Loki's neck to take him into his work room. "Your brother's kind of protective yes?"

"Just since the fall. He's worse than mother." Loki explained.

Tony laughed. "So tell me, what's the deal with you and Scarlet? Friends? Lovers?"

"Friends." Was his quick answer. "I have no plans on staying on Midgard and so I have no desire to string her along."

Tony nodded as he started the program to fix his suit. At least Loki wasn't a jerk when it came to women. "You got someone in Asgard?"

Loki frowned. "Not really." He peeked at what Tony was doing. "There is this one woman that I like, but truth be told, she loves Thor."

Tony nodded. "Unrequited love huh? That's tough."

"What's peculiar is that Thor was interested in Sif as well but then one day, he just stopped being interested. He won't tell me why."

"Maybe he found out you liked her." Tony offered. "Figured it would bother you if he got with her."

"No, no one knows. I don't think she even knows." Loki told him. "Anyway, it would be wrong to start something with Scarlet."

"I get why you are hesitant to start something with Scarlet, but why is Thor so against you being with Scarlet? She's a good girl."

Loki snorted. "No, she isn't. She has wicked thoughts that I'd like to exploit."

Tony arched a brown. "You… you walk a bit on the villain side huh?"

Loki smiled. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You just have this edge that Thor doesn't have." Tony told him. "Maybe that's what he's worried about."

Loki shrugged. "Maybe." It was hard not to have a villain side. His whole race was the definition of villain so there was probably a good reason for Thor to be concerned. "What are you doing?"

Tony was bent down dinging through a draw muttering something about needing to clean up. "Looking for nitrogen. I have to freeze…"

"I can freeze whatever it is that you need frozen." Loki quickly offered.

Tony cocked his head to the side. For some reason Loki's quick offer of assistance made him think about the conversation he had with Thor about Loki's eagerness to please. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm a Frost Giant."

Would it be taking advantage of him if he used Loki's freeze powers? "Why do you look like Thor then? Is it magic that you look like this?"

"It's called glamour. I am basically projecting what I want people to see." That wasn't the entire truth. It was a projection that Odin gave him and as he grew older, he took over the spell but there was no reason for specifics at that moment.

"Ah. Well, can I see what you really look like?" Tony requested though he quickly added. "I mean, only if you are comfortable with it."

Loki tilted his head. "Are you sure? It's odd even in Asgardian standards."

"Odd is good." Really it was. There was no one in the Avengers that wasn't odd.

Loki thought about it for a moment before letting the glamour fall.

It wasn't that Loki was ashamed of being a Frost Giant. Not really. The only reason why he asked Odin to change his appearance was because the children in Asgard wouldn't play with him. He was far more comfortable in his Jotun form but it seemed everyone was very much uncomfortable with his look.

His natural appearance wasn't grotesque, just odd. He was blue, with white swirls decorating his body. He looked like a blue human. He still had two eyes, two arms and two legs. Truth be told, Tony found the whole thing a bit anti-climactic.

"I don't get it." He said. "You look like a blue human. A blue human with white tattoos."

"The color itself isn't offensive." Loki explained. "It's what people of my color do."

That statement made Tony cringe. "Huh, what did your people do?"

"Killed a lot of people and tried to take over the universe." It was a simple answer delivered with a bit of a guilty tone. As if he was there. As if he did it.

"I can see how that would piss people off." Really Tony could. "But I mean, you were a kid when the war happened right? Thor made it seem like you guys were young adults."

"This is true."

"So Asgard doesn't like blue people because some blue people a long time ago tried to take over the universe."

"Correct."

"And there is a woman you like but you aren't sure if she likes you because Thor was into her."

"Right."

"So, why are you going back after the rainbow bridge is fixed? Sounds like Asgard sucks."

Loki tilted his head. Asgard didn't suck. They accepted him even when his own family didn't. They gave him a place to stay, food and clothing. He even had love. "Where would I go?"

"Stay here. We've got plenty of room." Tony said.

"And do what? I don't care about Earth."

Tony laughed. "You are candid."

"I don't. Not enough to die for it. The most I could do is stay here and heal people. But… I see nothing in it for me."

"Scarlet." Tony offered

Loki smiled, eyes unfocused for a moment as he thought about it before he added. "No. My family would never allow it. Earth is Thor's place, not mine."

Tony was tempted to ask where Loki's place was, because there was no way it was on Asgard, but decided to change the subject. "Have you showed Scarlet your blueness?"

"No. The need never arose and I doubt it will."

"Why did you show me?" Tony wondered if it really was just because he asked or if there was a reason for it.

"Scientists are always interested in odd things." Loki explained. "No matter the realm."

Tony nodded. "We really are. Bruce would love you."

Loki snorted.

"So, shoot me some ice."

Loki blasted whatever it was that Tony wanted melted feeling for the first time in a long time like his Jotun form was useful. It was a sixth sense that went off when he realized he was being watched. He looked up to see Thor standing there, mouth open.

Loki hardly ever showed his true self and though Thor loved Loki, it was always a shock and he never handled it well.

Tony looked up when he realized Loki stopped blasting ice and had reverted to his usual pasty self. He frowned when he realized that Thor was the cause of it. He could see why Asgard didn't handle Jotuns well but Thor was Loki's brother. "Hey I'm trying to work here." Tony reprimanded. "I can't find my nitrogen."

Thor blinked before stuttering. "I… um… forgive me Stark, I just wanted to speak to my brother."

Tony threw down his tools. "Gah, ever since you people moved into my towers I have no place of peace. Now I'm getting kicked out of my own lab!"

"I can throw you out if it makes you feel better." Loki smiled but Tony saw the joke for what it was. Loki felt a certain way about Thor's reaction to his true self and wanted to mask it with something to lighten the mood. It was a tactic Tony used all the time.

Tony's eyes narrowed into slits while he walked out.

"What is it Thor? Have you come to warn me that Stark is insane, because I figured that out already."

Thor smiled. "No, actually, I came to apologize for being so…"

"Overbearing?"

Thor nodded solemnly. "You must understand Loki how difficult it was to watch you fall."

Loki really didn't want to talk about that again. "Thor, I do understand really."

"No Loki. You can't possibly. I failed you…"

"Thor stop it! There was nothing you could have done. You might think you are mighty but even you have limits." Loki had been trying to let Thor off the hook since he returned from the Void. He really didn't blame Thor.

"And what are yours Loki? You have never spoken about what happened when you fell. You threw yourself off that bridge without a thought."

"Because it makes no sense to talk about it as it is over and it was my duty to save the youngest Prince of Asgard as much as it was yours. You know I have the same instincts you do as an elder brother."

Thor knew that. Of course Loki felt it was his duty to protect Baldur but he succeeding in that. It was him that failed in protecting him. "I know Loki. I just… wanted to apologize for treating you like that. I will try to control that."

Loki nodded. "Apology accepted."

Thor nodded before turning away. Tony returned a short time later. "Everything alright?"

"I think so. I don't know." Loki answered honestly. "He apologized for being too much."

That was a good thing. "Well he just loves you an awful lot."

Loki nodded. "He does. But I don't think that's what this was about. You see Thor has always shined, always succeeded. Me falling from the Bifrost was the first time he failed and it was public. He is determined to prove that he can keep us safe."

Tony could actually understand that. Keeping the Avengers safe was his top priority and every time one of them got hurt, it ate at him. "That's what elder brothers are for."

"I know." Loki said. "That's why I let go."


End file.
